TMNT-Maybe it Could Be Love

Chapter 3 Just a Peek

Chapter 3: Just a Peek

After the dinner Mikey had put together for everyone, they all gathered in the infirmary to talk and share stories. The guys wanted to know what Moonlight had done while she was in the military, and hear all of the stories she could share. It was one of the best moments Moonlight had ever had after she left the Army Base, and headed out into the world alone. She felt as though a heavy burden had lifted, and she was finally able to smile about something.

Raph knew his brothers and father had gone into the infirmary to visit with their new guest. He knew it would be polite for him to join them, so after weighing his options, he left his room and walked out into the lair. From the room where his brothers were, he could hear Moonlights voice trailing out into the openness of the lair. He walked closer to the infirmary to hear Moonlight’s story better.

“My first task as being a commander was in Panama. The base I was stationed at had two separate parts; the barracks and the main buildings.  But to get to the main buildings from the barracks, you had to pass through this open field. But in the middle of the field, there was this big black bird that would bomb you when you walked in the field or even when you walked around it.” Moonlight said with a smile on her face when she saw Raph standing in the door way. “Well. One day, a buddy of mine, we called him Ranger, and I were walking through that field, going to the barracks and when that bird came down, I raised the dinner plate that I took from the mesh hall, and the bird face planted right into it. From that day on, the bird never bothered anyone again.” Moonlight said, looking around when the turtles started to laugh.

“So that was your first mission? Ta get rid of a bird?” Raph said with a puzzled look on his face.

“Yeah, Marshall himself told me to get rid of the bird the way I felt was necessary. I didn’t want to kill it, just show it who was boss.” Moonlight said.

“Wow that must have been pretty cool. Did they give ya the title ‘Moonlight the Bird Slayer’?” Raph said sarcastically.

“No they didn’t. They called me Commander Moonlight, because that was my ranking order.” Moonlight said with a sweet voice she always used, though she was annoyed.

“You know Raph, you don’t have to be like that.” Donny said looking up at him from his spot next to Moonlight.

“Whatever” Raph said, and he walked out of the room.

After 3 hours of telling stories back and forth, it was around 10:30 pm before the guys started to leave for bed. Moonlight sat in the room alone for another two hours, thinking about the resent events. Being chased, shot, and then waking up to find four mutated turtles and a mutated rat had come to her rescue. She had to get it all out. She reached into her bag and pulled out her pad. No one knew she had it. She moved her penciel across the paper, in the rythem she was used to. After a half an hour, the picture was done. Whenever she drew in her sketch pad, it was like her mind took over her whole body, and she drew what sh e was feeling. When she was done, she looked at the paper. She drawn a picture of the turtles and their father. Finally after her mind stopped spinning, she laid her head down and closed her eyes.

Raph finally came out of his room when everyone was in bed. He didn’t know what to do, he just wanted to be alone for a while. But something in the back of his mind told him to walk by the infirmary. When he looked inside, he saw Moonlight laying soundlessly on the cot, fast asleep. Raph stood in the doorway for what seemed like forever before moving inside to sit next to Moonlight. He knew why he was acting the way he was. He was trying to push Moonlight away, by being rude and mean. It was just hard to follow. He just knew she would not feel the same way about him as he did for her. He liked her. His brothers knew that he had strange ways of showing love, and this was one of those ways. Ever since Raphael saw Moonlight in the sewer, he hadn’t been able to look at her without thinking how perfect she was. She had more muscle than Ananda or April, and was only a few inches shorter than Raph. She was thin and lean, and looked like she was mostly muscle and bone. When he had carried her to the lair after finding her, he noticed how frail she was. He and brothers didn’t think she would make it, but she proved them wrong. She was much stronger than she looked. When Raph looked closer to where her hands were, he saw a sketch pad with something on it. When he looked, he saw a sketch of him and his brothers. It was in coal, and almost every detail about the four of them was right. Raph reached and grabbed the book, pulling it carefully out from under Moonlight’s hand. He turned the pages to find more pictures of different people and places. Raph guessed that these were people and places Moonlight had met and seen.

 All of them different from the last. But there was one picture that made Raph stop turning the pages. It was of a family. A tall man with his hair pulled back. He had squinting eyes that that symbolized that he has Japanese. A grin on his face as he looked down upon his daughter. The little girl in the picture had a sundress on that went only down to her knees. Her hair has brushed to one of her shoulders flowing down her body to almost her waist. A woman stood next to the man, wearing a sun dress as well. The woman’s face had a beautiful smile on it. With a closer look the woman in the picture looked a lot like Moonlight. Standing on the other side of the woman was another man, who looked the same age as Moonlight did now. He looked like the older man. Both men were wearing dress shirts and dress pants.

“That is my family” Moonlight’s soft voice startled Raph. He turned his head and saw her looking up at him with tired eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” He said, feeling his face turning hot.

“I woke myself. Couldn’t sleep?” Moonlight asked quietly still looking at him with a friendly grin on her face.

“Yeah. I was goin ta the kitchen when I saw ya alone. I couldn’t tell if ya were dead or just asleep.” Raph said.

“Well I hope I am still alive.” Moonlight said with a chuckle.

Raph looked back down at the picture. “So who is who?”

“The older man was my father. The woman was my mother. The little girl was me when I was eight years old.”

“Who is the other person, on the other side of your mom?” Raph asked.

“That was my brother.” Moonlight said, the light in her eyes leaving along with the smile. Her eyes showed her deep in a painful memory. Her eyes even turned a darker shade of green. Raph wasn’t about to ask what was wrong. He handed the sketch book back to Moonlight.

“You’re not bad at drawin. I can give ya that.” He said.

He stood up and walked to the door way. “Don’t die on us in the night.” Raph said, as he walked away.